Dog News

Michigan Flood Almost Claims Crated Dog’s Life

by Katherine

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The recent torrential rains across the United States Midwest and East Coast have flooded many areas, costing area residents thousands of dollars in water damage, and forcing them to evacuate their homes. In Hazel Park, Mich., Riley, a one-year-old Pomeranian beagle, was in a crate in the basement and almost lost his life when flood water levels rose, almost submerging his crate. Fortunately for the pup, his owner got home just in time to save him from drowning.

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Photo Credit: Brian Kaufman/Detroit Free Press

Dave Bentsen, Riley’s owner, had no idea of the danger his pet was in, but thanks to a neighbor who called him to say the neighborhood was under water, the dog owner rushed home to safe his dog.

According to the Times Herald, the dog owner parked his car in a bank’s parking lot along I-75 and then ran through flooded streets until he made it home. There, Bentsen rushed to the basement and found it flooded with murky water.

“When I got home, the cage was locked, the water was up to here to this bar,” said Bentsen, pointing just a few inches down from the top of the crate. “I couldn’t see [Riley.] I opened the cage and reached in for him and he went under the water and came out the other end and just jumped into my arms.”

The dog’s body had been submerged in the murky water for who knows how long, but the smart canine held his snout above the water until his owner came home to rescue him.

Bentsen’s wife, Gail, was relieved her beloved pet was saved. To her, the dog is all that matters. The material possessions can be replaced, but Riley is irreplaceable.

Riley is a lucky dog. Not long after he was pulled from the crate, the flooded water levels rose again, submerging his crate completely. If Bentsen hadn’t rescued the dog when he did, Riley wouldn’t be alive today.